''Easter Fever'' is a 1980 Canadian-American animated

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

themed television special that premiered in syndication in the United States and on CBC on March 30, 1980.

Production

It is the five out of the six television specials in the 1977 to 1980 series of specials by

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

. It was also one of the last television specials from the company, concluding the series with ''

Take Me Up to the Ball Game ''Take Me Up to the Ball Game'' is a 1980 American-Canadian animated television special that premiered on CBC in Canada and in syndication in the United States on September 18, 1980. It is the last television special in Nelvana's 1977 to 1980 s ...

'', which premiered on September 18 of the year.

Summary

In the special, Jack Rabbit (voiced by ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' cast member

Garrett Morris Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live'', appearing from 1975 to 1980, and played Jimmy on ''The Jeffersons'' ...

) leaves his job as the

Easter Bunny The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" orig ...

and is treated to a celebrity roast until an

aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike ...

convinced him not to retire with "the last Easter egg" (

Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...

providing impressions of

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

and

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter La ...

and '' SCTV''s

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her comedy work on ''Second City Television'' (1976–84) and ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020) and in films such as '' After Hours'' (1985), ''Beetleju ...

providing the voice of Jack's wife Scarlett O'Hare). It also features songs by

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " ...

Voice cast

as Jack Rabbit *

as Don Rattles/Steed Martin *

as Scarlett O'Hare * Don Ferguson as Announcer *

Jim Henshaw Jim Henshaw (born September 28, 1949) is a Canadian actor, screenwriter and film and television producer. Early life and education Henshaw was born in Bassano, Alberta, Canada. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. Career A mainst ...

as Aardvark *

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was an English-born Canadian actor. Career He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952. Wiggins is probably ...

as Santa Claus *Larry Mollin as Ratso Rat *Jeri Craden as Madame Malegg *

Melleny Brown Melleny Melody (born Melleny Brown; 12 May 1969), also known as Melleefresh, is a Canadian actress and singer. Biography Melleny Brown was born in Toronto, Ontario. Originally known for her vocal work in cartoons, she played Cheer Bear and Baby ...

as Hare-O Behind The Voice Actors
/ref>

References

External links

*
''Easter Fever'' at Big Cartoon DataBase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jack Rabbit Story, The 1980 television specials 1980s animated television specials Canadian television specials Nelvana television specials Easter television specials Easter Bunny in television American television specials Santa Claus in television

Production

Summary

Voice cast

See also

References

External links